The Haryana Cabinet on Tuesday revised the norms to allow construction of housing and commercial projects on smaller land parcels. The government also revised the area norms for the Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojana (DDJAY) and extended it across the state, including Gurugram.

While these moves are expected to increase the supply and stabilise prices, in particular, officials of the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) said that the move would significantly check the development of illegal colonies and unauthorised construction in urban areas.

The norms have been revised based on the zone the project falls in — hyper, high, medium or low — as notified by the state government.

Gurugram falls in the hyper zone, as per the state government’s categorisation based on circle rates and the market price of land.

According to the revised norms, the minimum area required for a residential plotted colony is 25 acres in the hyper zone, 20 acres in the high zone, 15 acres in the medium zone and 10 acres in the low zone. Earlier, it was 100 acres each for hyper and high, 15 acres for medium and 10 acres for low.

The norms for residential group housing has been revised to facilitate construction on five acres in the hyper zone, four in the high zone, two in the medium zone and one in the low zone.

Earlier, it was 10 acres each for hyper and high, two acres for medium and one acre for low.

As per the revised norms, an industrial plotted colony can be constructed on 25 acres in the hyper zone, 20 acres in the high zone, 15 acres in the medium zone and 10 acres in the low zone.

The area norms for DDJAY has been revised to 10 acres for hyper, five acres each high, medium and low. Earlier, it was five acres each for high, medium and low.

RS Bhath, district town planner, said that this move would check unauthorised construction and illegal colonies.

“There are a lot of smaller land parcels that can now be developed without any hindrance. The extension of DDJAY scheme to Gurugram would mean more affordable housing,” he said.

The revised norms will be placed in the public domain for 30 days for inviting objections/suggestions from stakeholders and general public, which will be taken into cognizance for finalization of the policy, a spokesperson for the Haryana government said.

As per the new norms, a landowner in Gurugram who has five acres of land can develop a group housing project.

“The reduction in land requirement will help develop land parcels and chunks that were left behind and could not be developed. It, however, remains to be seen whether the state government removes the cap on group housing and other sectors that has been fixed sector-wise,” said Sanjay Sharma, a real estate consultant.

Experts also said that this move will increase the supply of housing in the city, as more land would be urbanised, and could also reduce the prices in the long run.

As per a rough estimate, a 25-acre plotted housing project under the revised norms will have around 12 acres left for housing, as half of the land would be used for utilities and services. The remaining 12 acres is equivalent to 60,000 square yards, which can be divided into 200 plots of 300 square yards each or 200 to 250 plots of different dimensions. Likewise, a group housing on five acres can have around 250 flats.

Member of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), Haryana, welcomed the move and said it would facilitate development in the housing sector. They, however, maintained that it was important that the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA), norms be followed, to ensure that there is security for investors.

“It is also important that the government provides infrastructure such as roads, sewage, electricity and water, in a planned and efficient manner,” said Prashant Solomon, MD, Chintels, and spokesperson for CREDAI, Haryana-NCR.

Parveen Jain, chairman, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), Haryana also welcomed the move and said that it will help in building 24-metre roads in New Gurugram, which has been stuck.

“Smaller land chunks would be developed and this will boost the road network. The extension of DDJAY will boost affordable housing,” he said.

Developers in Gurugram also welcomed the decision as they believe this will help smaller chunks to be developed at a lower cost.

“Lesser money would be required for smaller projects and selling it can be easier. From a developer’s perspective, it would make planning easier, and, in future, stabilise the supply,” said Gaurav Mittal, managing director, CHD Developers, which has developed several projects in the city.

First Published: Jun 26, 2019 02:46 IST